As many of you have already seen and commented on Facebook, yesterday was Mimi’s birthday – she turned 65 years old! In spite of her advanced age, she is not even thinking of retiring. Almost every week that passes she will open the curtains in the morning with the exclamation, “Another glorious day in Africa”! We are now called “Mommy” and “Daddy” by John (previously described), Theo (the gardener), John Paul (night watchman) and Solange (housekeeper), the three young men and young mother who work in the house every day. They all pour themselves into keeping the house up to allow Mimi to do what she does best.
Just two weeks ago we had to say goodbye to Peter and Katie Cartledge, a young British couple (both doctors) who had lived with us for 5 months. They had not only contributed significantly to the medical teaching of medical students and interns here in Rwanda, but allowed us to enter their lives in a very significant way. They both sang in the choir of the Anglican church we attend, and many Friday nights we found that we were hosting a sleep-over of the women in the choir – 8-12 active Rwandan women who sang long into the night and generally found a space to sleep (often on one of the sofas) about 3 AM. It was great to watch Katie and Mimi building the fine points of their character brick by brick through the evening.
Even before Peter and Katie had returned to England, we have been blessed to have another couple, Caleb and Ellie VanEssen, come to stay with us for 2 months. They were married only one year ago, and both just graduated from Azuza Pacific University in California. Caleb is taking this year to apply to medical schools, and has been accompanying me on my teaching rounds of the family medicine residents, while Ellie is teaching English and getting to know some of the psychologists and counselors currently working in Rwanda (her major at APU was psychology). Caleb and his father currently hold the record for the fastest father-son team to climb all 54 mountains over 14,000 feet in Colorado – in 16 days. He managed to run a half-marathon the second week he was here just to keep in shape, coming in 3rd place overall!
We are still hosting visiting physicians as well, and have been focusing on those who can stay for a longer period and really get to know and significantly contribute to the doctors in training here. Two family physicians are coming in September for 3 and 4 months respectively, and a radiologist is coming to teach basic radiology in September as well. Because there are only about 4 radiologists in the entire country, most of the doctors have to interpret their own films and ultrasounds, and there is very little formal training available in this. We interviewed several radiologists who expressed an interest, but found only one who felt comfortable teaching how to interpret the plain X-rays that can be obtained at most district hospitals – most of the others only focus on CT scans, MRI, or other high-tech activities. Our biggest problem will be trying to distribute his time between the various specialty residents who all want to learn from him!
Mimi and I will return to the U.S. for about 6 weeks from Sept. 12 through Oct. 22, and hope to spend most of the time between Grand Rapids, Michigan and Denver with our children, grandchildren, and family. Then it is back to Africa and teaching medicine, life skills, and spiritual formation. We are having a ball!
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